First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Raises Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,655 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,839 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in General Mills were worth $1,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Operose Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Mills by 214.1% in the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Mills Stock Up 1.1 %

GIS traded up $0.78 during trading on Thursday, hitting $70.77. The company had a trading volume of 466,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,188,179. The company has a market cap of $40.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $67.96 and a 200-day moving average of $65.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.40. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.33 and a 1-year high of $90.89.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.97 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 26.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In other General Mills news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total transaction of $692,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 93,381 shares in the company, valued at $6,462,899.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of General Mills from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of General Mills from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of General Mills from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.18.

General Mills Profile

General Mills, Inc manufactures and markets branded consumer foods worldwide. The company operates through four segments: North America Retail; International; Pet; and North America Foodservice. It offers grain, ready-to-eat cereals, refrigerated yogurt, soup, meal kits, refrigerated and frozen dough products, dessert and baking mixes, bakery flour, frozen pizza and pizza snacks, snack bars, fruit and salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.